Korea, Northofficially Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Korean Chosŏn Minjujuŭi In’min Konghwagukcountry in East Asia. It occupies the northern portion of the Korean peninsula, which juts out from the Asian mainland between the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and the Yellow Sea; North Korea covers about 55 percent of the peninsula. The country is bordered by China and Russia to the north and by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to the south. North Korea has an area of 47,399 square miles (122,762 square kilometres), occupying about 55 percent of the peninsula. The national capital, P’yŏngyang, is a major industrial and transport centre near the west coast(see photograph).